HP StorageWorks 8/40 SAN Switch

HP Updated: 2008-09-20 RSS
HP StorageWorks 8/40 SAN Switch

The HP StorageWorks 8/40 SAN Switch is ideal for organizations requiring a flexible solution that is forward and backward compatible and will meet rapidly evolving storage requirements, either as a small “building-block” switch for a departmental fabric or as a high-performance edge switch in larger core-to-edge SAN configurations.

The 8/40 SAN Switch is designed for rapidly growing storage requirements in mission-critical environments—combining 1, 2, 4, and 8 Gbit/sec Fibre Channel technology in configurations of 24, 32, or 40 ports. A fully populated 8/40 SAN Switch with 40 ports enabled provides an aggregate bandwidth of 680 Gbit/sec. Inter-Switch Link (ISL) trunking can supply up to 64 Gbit/sec of balanced data throughput to reduce congestion and increase bandwidth. The 8/40 SAN Switch also enables organizations to use 4 Gbit/sec SFPs today and upgrade to 8 Gbit/sec SFPs when required.

The 8/40 SAN Switch provides a reliable foundation for disaster recovery and business continuance by employing enterprise-class availability features such as hot-swappable, redundant, and integrated fan and power supply assemblies. Moreover, hot code load and activation help maximize application uptime with faster system upgrades and maintenance to reduce the dependency on scheduled outages.

The optional Integrated Routing provides native Fibre Channel Routing on a per-port basis rather than limiting routing to special-purpose routing switches or blades. Integrated Routing uses EX_Ports to import/export devices between fabrics, enabling selective device sharing while maintaining remote fabric isolation for higher levels of scalability and fault isolation.

The Power Pack+ software provides the SAN administrator with the necessary tools to monitor the health and performance of the network through a single pane of glass. Enhanced capabilities ensure ample bandwidth for mission-critical applications.

What's new

* 8 Gb Technology
* Full 1:1 subscription on all ports at 8 Gbit/sec
* Enhanced Inter-Switch Link (ISL) Trunking
* Optional software for Integrated Routing, per-port routing option
* Adaptive Networking with Quality of Service, Traffic Isolation, and Ingress Rate Limiting

Features and Benefits

* Non-blocking architecture: Includes simultaneous wire-speed support for all ports to provide a high-performance system with aggregate bandwidth of up to 640 Gbit/sec full duplex.
* Auto-sensing 1, 2, 4, and 8 Gbit/sec switch and router ports: Enables rapid deployment with minimal configuration in existing environments; provides the highest performance available, with complete backward and forward investment protection.
* Ports on Demand capability: Enables "pay-as-you-grow" non disruptive scalability from 24 to 40 ports for easy, scalable growth in highly dynamic business environments.
* Full 1:1 subscription on all ports at 8 Gbit/sec: Simplifies SAN management, negating the need to map application performance requirements to port speeds.
* Optional software for Integrated Routing, per-port routing option: Improves scalability and fault isolation on a per-port basis; delivers architecture flexibility, negating the need to deploy a dedicated routing platform or consume director slots.
* Enhanced Inter-Switch Link (ISL) Trunking: Allows up to eight ports (at 2, 4, or 8 Gbit/sec speeds) between a pair of switches to be combined to form a single logical ISL with a speed of up to 64 Gbit/sec (128 Gbit/sec full duplex) for optimal bandwidth utilization and load balancing.
* Dynamic Path Selection (DPS): Optimizes fabric-wide performance and load balancing by automatically routing data to all available paths in the fabric.
* Management:  Single code stream supports the entire B-series portfolio, providing full forward and backward compatibility among B-series SAN switches and simplifying maintenance and software upgrades.
* Adaptive Networking: Advanced fabric services to optimize SAN performance and resource utilization.
* Sixth-generation technology: Delivers low latency, power efficiency, and high reliability while providing a highly scalable and flexible platform for advanced fabric services.